Citizenship or GC renewal... need one of them fast!

A

ADVN

New Member
OK, so I need to travel this summer, in July, and my GC is going to expire in 2 weeks - gulp - I knew it was coming up but with moving in the fall and then the holidays etc I lost track of the date...

Anyway, the plan had been to apply for citizenship. It should be straightforward, I've lived in the US for 16yrs, married to citizen for 13yrs, GC for 12 yrs.

One thing I'm not sure about is whether you can get a "permission for travel" once you apply for citizenship, like you can when you apply for your GC. Also, is there any chance of getting my citizenship/passport before July in time to travel?

If not, should I just renew my GC? How long does that take these days, and again, can I get permission to travel in July if necessary? It is my parents 70th birthdays and it will be awful if I can't go... HELP!
 
Once you apply to renew your GC, you can immediately go to the USCIS office and get a stamp in your passport that is equivalent to a GC, allowing you to work, travel, etc.

Not sure how long it would take for you to naturalize.
 
Yes, 6 months is enough to get naturalized AND get your passport. My application to passport took about 5 months. Dont waste time and apply now.
 
ADVN said:
One thing I'm not sure about is whether you can get a "permission for travel" once you apply for citizenship, like you can when you apply for your GC.
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If you applied for naturalization with more than 6 months remaining on your GC, you would be eligible for free I-551 stamping. But it's too late for that, so you'll have to apply for renewal to get the stamp which would allow you to travel and reenter the US.
 
It depends on where you apply. In some places, there is absolutely no guarantee you'll have your oath date within 6 months. In some, you'll have it in 4. Also, you're legally required to apply for to renew your GC if it'll expire in less than 6 months when you apply for naturalisation. Many people don't and take a chance at the interview, and are often not told to renew it before naturalisation processing can continue. But, 2 weeks? It'll be expired when you go to your interview. Still, it might not be noticed, but your problem is that you need to travel. So, you either take the chance and not renew, hoping to be naturalised, or you renew now and, when you get your proof of application, take it to an infopass appointment and get a temporary I551 stamp in your passport.
 
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